Hydraulically operated lock



r Ot. 13, 1942. l R. RHEIN 2,298,776'

HYDRAULICALLY 'OPRTED LOCK Filed Feb, 12, 1941 s smaets-sheetv 1 INV ENT OR. l or@ f?. /P/ff/Af,

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IOct. 13, 17942. 1 R; RHEIN Y 2,298,776

' y HYDRAULICALLY OBERATED Loox I Filed Feb..v12, `1941 s sheets-sheet s INvEm-OR attentati @ich mit il HYDRAULICY PERATED itl` Lloyd R. Rhein, Pleasant Ridge, Mich., assianor to Ternstedt Manufacturing Company, Detroit,

Mich., a corporation of Michigan vApplication February l2, 1941, Serial No. 37%,501 8 Claims. (Cl. 292-144) This invention relates to narrow pillar locks. Narrow pillars, particularly in connection with the modern all-metal body, have been the objective of body builders. A narrow pillar is particular-1y desirable for the door where it joins the windshield pillar in order to cut down the blind spot for the driver. Doors now seldom open from the front because of the danger of one unwittingly opening a door while the car is traveling with the result that the passing air very often results in disaster when it catches the door and throws it open.

It is also desirable to have the center pillars as narrow as possible. So, all the ellorts o! the designers have been directed to getting as narrow uprights between the windows as is possible. However, the ordinary look with the shaft passing through the door cannot be used with a narrow pillar. Hence, various forms of narrow pillar locks have been designed in the last twenty years to pass the operating connections around the sliding window and occupying as small a space as possible. V

It is the object i the present invention to provide a narrow pillar lock with this objective and also to provide a loch in which the operating handle may he caused to pivot toward the operator in opening as this is a more natural edort than twisting the handle with the wrist.

in the drawings:

Fie. i shows a iraeinent of a body with my narrow pillar locir. in piace.

lila. 2 is an elevation oi the loch with the rear plate removed.

Fig. 3 is a section taizen on the line int oi lila. i.

iria. l is an enlarged iraenientary section show ine the operation parts.

his. il is a sar view showina the .parts in a diderent position.

lilla. 'i is a section through a door showing a hey operated loch.,

ities. t and ii are sections on the lines similarly designated in lila?. i.

".ihe locii plate is deoionated i, the bolt i and the keeper t.. This ireeper is the .strlher` "ihe door is designated t, the overlap and the door jamie t. The sliding holt it lo norrnally projected hy the cloeh sprina i. t is a remote control connection in the torni oi o. that connects. with the cranio which is operated hy the inside pull-to handle it.

tille outside handle il is pivoted on cortical 5 idling plunger iii. iiothind oi the door adjacent the overlap flange 5. Handle Il can be swung outwardly, as shown in the dotted lines of Fig. 3. tintura i3 is a casting which is inserted in the door through the opening il in the outer panel of the door. The valve stem i5 is threaded through the lock tace plate It and the inner door panel il.. lhe thumb piece i8 screws onto the end oi the valve stem i5. The fixture is provided with a cylinder chamber i9 in which reciprocates the hydraulic piston 2t. A spring 2| tends to keep the piston in the projected position shown in lig.` 3. Tube 22 leads from the end of the hydraulic cylinder into the other end of the fixture where is located a second hydraulic cylinder 23 and a third hydraulic cylinder 2l. The rotary valve IB has a diametric passage 25 and an oblique passage 2li,4 both of which can register with port 21 at the end oi tube 22. The diametric passage 2i can register with cylinder 23 and oblique passage it can register with cylinder 2t so that cylinders 2t and 24 can be alternately connected with the tube it by a quarter of a turn of thumb lever it. Cylinder 23 has a piston it with a proper paca it and cylinder 2t has an idling plunger to backed up by coil spring tl. plunder it has paca 32. liston 2t has a piston rod it which passes out the opposite end oi the cylinder throuah a packing sleeve it. This is arranged to contact the turned out ear iii oi the holt il.,

rihe Voperation is as follows: Une desiring.r to

4operi the door iront the inside simply turns down on handle it. Cra t rotates cioclrwlse and, through lint: t, withdraws holt i. @ne der to enter the car iront the outside pulls outside handle il trom the lull line position to the dotted line position in iEiig. it. This depresses plunder it and thrusts a column oi oli down throueh tuhe il and, il the valve it is in the position shown in Fia. Li, this allows the duid to push piston to the leit (as shown in hier. il therehy retraction the holt as shown in the dotted lines oi t. li the Valve stein is turned to the position shown in Fia. 5, the oil coi tinuists outwardly the happem hut the compression oi spring il.. "the idly.. 'l'he handle is sometimes called, in connec tion with present-day lecito. a seniimireewheelhoa handle. This hm heen tound incre desirahie than to hloclr the movement oi the handle as prevents the breaking ol the handle or other parte hy one seeking to eet into the car illeaaily.. iY apprises the would-he thiei that it will not do hint any goodV to try to torce the handle he la pivot it on the nature it attached to the outside up against an inoperative haue. These tree@ outside handle swings wheeling handles are almost universally designed on the principle of having a disconnectable connection between the sliding bolt and the outside rollback. This movable clutching member and its proper control introduces somewhat of a complication in levers, rods, etc., to operate it as counterdistinguished from the simple valve arrangement and the idling cylinder provided in the present lock.

In Figs. 7-9 inclusive, an arrangement is shown for locking a'door from the outside with a key. The door is provided with the same type oi inside lock as already described. A key operated barrel 40 is provided. In the end of this is a valve 4I. When the barrel is in the position shown in Fig. 9, the door is not locked from the outside but may be locked from the inside in the same way as already described by turning the shaft I5 by means oi' the lever I8. With the parts in the position shown in Fig. 7, the door is unlocked from the inside. To lock the door from the outside, the key barrel is turned so that the port 42 registers with the passageway 43 which, in turn, registers with the chamber I9 which is ahead of the piston 20. The port 42 leads to the interior chamber 45 at the end Aoi' the barrel in which is located piston 46 held in the left hand position by a weak helical spring 41. Ii' the outside handle II is operated, when the key barrel 4I has been turned so that port 42 registers with passageway 43, then the fluid displaced by piston 20 will tend to operate on both the bolt retracting piston 28 and the piston 46 at the end of the key barrel. But, inasmuch as piston 46 is held forward by aweak spring 41, the oil displacement will take place in the chamber at the end of the key barrel and the bolt will not be retracted.

So, it will be seen that the door may be locked either from the inside or outside. These passageways and the valve 46 and the chamber in which it reciprocates constitutes another idling means for making the outside handle lneiective to retract the bolt. Of course, it would not be necessary to have the'piston in connection with the idling means except that some arrangement must be afforded to return the quantum of oil to the passageways in front of the piston 20.

It is very desirable in locks to have an arrangement that is usually referred to as automatic undogging, although this is not accurate when applied to freewheeling or semi-freewheeling handles. Some means must be provided to make the outside door handle eil'ective to retract the bolt each time the door is closed from the outside. Otherwise, one may very well get locked out of his car when he carelessly leaves the car and leaves the key in the ignition lock. I secure this result by providing a lever 36 on the valve I5. This is arranged to be struck by a shoulder 31 on the sliding bolt. So, when valve I5 is turned to the position shown in Fig. 5, which connects with the idling plunger and the door is closed, the retraction oi' the bolt 2 by striker 3 will automatically return the-lever 36 to the position comprising a hydraulic transmission passing across the door'just inside the Jamb face and having means on the inner end for retracting the bolt and having means on the outside end to be actuated by the outside handle and idling means together with a valve that may be alternately turned to put the idling means in communication with the hydraulic iluid to make the outside handle ineilective and to put the retracting means in communication with the hydraulic iluid to make the outside handle eiective to retract the bolt.

2. In a hydraulic lock particularly adapted for narrow pillars, the combination of a lock casing, a bolt slidable thereon, means for retracting the bolt from the inside of the door and outside operating connections of the hydraulic type comprising a hydraulic transmission having means on the inner end for retracting the bolt and having means on the outside end to be actuated by the outside handle and idling means together with a. rotary valve` that may be alternately turned to put the idling means in communication with the hydraulic iiuid to make the outside handle ineffective and to put the bolt actuating means in communication with the hydraulic iluid to make the outside handle effective to retract the bolt, said valve having a diametric passageway for directing the hydraulic fluid into the bolt actuating means and an oblique passageway for` putting the hydraulic uid into communication with the idling means. the said passageways being located at angularly spaced points around said rotating valve.

3. In a hydraulically operated lock, the combination with a lock having a casing, a bolt slidable therein and means on the inside of the door for retracting the latch bolt, a hydraulic unit supported in the door and having a cylinder and plunger on the outer end of the unit and a second and third cylinder with a piston in each cylinder, one being an idling piston and a spring for backing the same and the other being an` actuating piston with a piston rod arranged to engage with the sliding bolt to retract the same and a valve for controlling the passage of the hydraulic fluid to the idling piston and an outside handle arranged to actuate the plunger at the outer end oi the hydraulic unit.

4. In a hydraulically operated lock, the combination with a lock having a. casing, a bolt slidable therein and means on the inside of the door shown in Fig. 2 and restore the valve to the position shown in Fig. 4, wherein the hydraulic column is connected with the bolt retracting plunger 28.

What I claim is:

l. In a hydraulic lock particularly adapted for narrow pillars, the combination of a. lock casing, a bolt slidable therein, means for retracting the bolt from the inside of the door and outside operating connections ot the hydraulic type for retracting the latch bolt, a hydraulic unit installable in the door and having a cylinder and plunger on the outer end of the unit and a second and third cylinder with a piston in each cylinder, one being an idling piston and a spring for backing the same and the other being an actuating piston with a piston rod arranged to engage with the sliding bolt to retract the same, a valve for controlling the passage of the hydraulic uid to the idling piston and an outwardly swinging handle swinging on a substantially vertical pivot for actuating the plunger at the outer end of the unit.

5. In a hydraulically operated lock, the combination with a lock having a casing, a bolt slidengage with the sliding bolt to retract the same, a valve for controlling the passage of the hydraulic iluid to one or the other of these two last mentioned cylinders and an outside handle arranged to actuate the plunger at the outer end of the hydraulic unit and an automatic device for returning the valve each time the latch bolt is retracted to a position to cause the hydraulic fluid to be in communication with the cylinder and piston that actuates the bolt to retract the same. t

6. In a hydraulically operated lock, the combination with a lock having a casing, a bolt slidable therein and means on the inside of the door for retracting the latch bolt, a hydraulic unit insertable in the door and having a. cylinder and plunger on the outer end of the unit and a second and third cylinder with a piston in each cylinder on the inside end of the unit, one being an idling piston and a spring for backing the same and the other an actuating piston with a piston rod arranged to engage with the sliding bolt to retract the same, a valve for controlling the passage of the hydraulic fluid to one or the other of these two last mentioned cylinders, an outside handle arranged to actuate the plunger at the outer end of the hydraulic unit and an automatic device for returning the valve each time the latch bolt is retracted to a position to cause `the hydraulic uid to be in communication with the cylinder and piston that actuates the bolt to retract the same, comprising a lever on the valve arranged in the path of a portion of the bolt when the same is retracted and the valve is in a position to put the hydraulic iluid in communication with the idling cylinder.

7. In a hydraulic lock particularly adapted for narrow pillars, the combination of a lock casing, a spring pressed bolt slidable therein, means for retracting the bolt from the inside of the doorl and outside operating connections of the hydraulic type comprising a hydraulic transmission having means on the inner end for retractng the bolt and having means on the outside end to be actuated by the outside handle and idling means in the form oi a piston pressed outwardly by a spring weaker than the bolt projecting spring, and a valve that may be alternately turned to put the idling means in communication with the hydraulic iluid to make the outside handle ineiective or to put the idling means out of communication with the hydraulic fluid to make the outside handle effective to retract the bolt.

8. In a hydraulically operated lock, the combination with a lock having a casing, a springpressed bolt slidable therein and means *on the inside of the door for retracting the latch bolt, a hydraulic unit supported in the door and having a cylinder and plunger on the outer end of the unit and a second and third cylinder with a'` piston in each cylinder, one being an idling piston and a spring for backing the same weaker than the belt spring and the other being an actuating piston with a piston rod arranged to engage with the sliding bolt to retract the same and a valve for controlling the passage of the hydraulic fluid to theidling piston and an outside handle arranged to actuate the plunger at the outer end of the hydraulic unit, the said idling piston reciprocating in a chamber adjacent the outside door handle.

LLOYD R. 

